Intersection sparks safety concerns

Published 6:00 pm, Friday, March 12, 2004

And he's going to keep doing whatever it takes to prevent someone from being killed, he said.

Weems, a resident of Longwood Drive in Conroe, is only one of several residents who are concerned about the lack of a signal light or additional stop signs at the intersection of Longmire Road and FM 3083, the newly built thoroughfare connecting Interstate 45 and Texas 105, near Teas Nursery Road.

The construction of the road, a Texas Department of Transportation and city of Conroe joint project, was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon.

Weems said a two-vehicle accident four hours later is just a taste of more to come.

Throughout the day Friday TxDOT and city of Conroe officials answered calls from local citizens who were voicing the same concerns, which TxDOT responded to with the placement of larger stop signs on Longmire Road Friday.

TxDOT Area Engineer Karen Baker said Friday the 30-inch signs were replaced with 48-inch signs.

But residents say that may not be enough. The majority of concerns voiced to officials note an obstructed view when sitting at the stop sign on Longmire Road, headed north.

Residents say a raised area to the left blocks them from seeing oncoming traffic.

But TxDOT said more than naked-eye information is needed to spend the time and money installing a signal light. The road must meet certain criteria.

According to Baker, when the road was planned, traffic projections for 2007 were used to determine whether the road met any of the criteria.

And even the use of those figures, which would have generated more traffic than 2004 projections, did not warrant a traffic signal.

TxDOT's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices state that a minimum of 52 vehicles heading one direction per hour, over an eight-hour period must be counted.

In addition, factors including the number of pedestrians, crashes and school traffic are also considered.

"Engineers are looking at statistics and probability, when common sense is going to tell you (what will happen)," Weems said.

Conroe mayoral candidate Frank Denton also agrees that common sense should be the foremost factor in decisions such as these.

"Sometimes you don't need a study. Common sense can dictate when you need a signal light," Denton said.

"It looks like a dangerous intersection to me, and I would not wait until someone is hurt or killed before action is taken."

Denton added that a cost-effective interim measure would be the creation of a four-way stop sign.

However, one of Denton's opponents, Tommy Metcalf, feels a signal light should be studied before installed so that the information is present to support the action. But in the meantime, he supports the installation of larger stop signs that catch more people's attention as to avoid hazardous wrecks.

Former Mayor Pro-Tem Cathy Smith said she has heard the concerns of some of the area's residents first-hand and is "very concerned" and supportive of additional traffic controls.

Candidate James Mitchell, who is largely campaigning on behalf of the common man's concerns, said the resident's feelings about what is needed in their area should be heeded by all officials who have power to make a change. "We need to do whatever is necessary to make our streets safer," he said.

Baker said she agrees and has ordered a traffic study to take place next week.

However, she said, it takes more than her department to make it work.

"We design our roadways to be as safe as possible, but the drivers must also drive responsibly," Baker said.